UK Film - I Give It A Year

Plot Summary: I give it a year is a British Rom-Com which sells the whole idea of being British and has a very Bridget Jones feel to it. Having this, it appeals to those audiences of whom watched and liked Bridget Jones. Newlywed couple Nat and Josh are deliriously happy despite their differences, though friends and family aren't convinced that they can last. With their first anniversary approaching and attractive alternatives in the mix, can they last?

Release Date: It was released in February 2013 for the reason of that it's valentines day and many people would go to the cinema with their 'valentines' near to or on the day. It is key to cinema to have Rom-Coms released throughout February, especially British ones as the idea of 'British love' is sold greatly amongst other cultures.

Certificate: 15 There are strong sexual references and dialogue throughout. Having a Rom-Com certified at a 15 allows room for strong sexual references which relates to its audience on a higher scale and ultimately bringing in a larger audience.

Budget and Box Office: The actual budget price isn't available, however the director said it was a limited budget as he is a 'great believer in that great comedy doesn't need to cost a fortune'. It made a £32.5k at US box office over all. It was majorly successful in the US as British romance is desirable.

Reviews: It had mainly positive reviews with a trend of people saying it didn't focus as much on the romance as it did on the comedy which somewhat defeated the romance theme. Many also said that it would make Hugh Grant and his fans proud. On Rotten Tomato's 'Tomato-meter' it scored 55% and audience scored it as 43%.

Stars:It features 3 key actors who made their debut in TV shows. Stephen Merchant, Olivia Coleman and Alex Macqueen. It also features other actors popular in British Cinema such as Minnie Driver and Rafe Spall. Having TV stars feature in a film appeals to the audiences who watch the shows they're in which is cleverly done as that in this method it brings in male audiences as well as female.

Marketing: It was mainly advertised on Facebook as it's cheap and many people will see it as it's the largest social network site. Following the release of the film, a soundtrack was released which, obviously, features love songs. It has also been released on DVD.

Director: Dan Mazer

The Great Gatsby

Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of the famous novel 'The Great Gatsby' was a blockbuster of 2013 for a number of reasons. Generally when a film is made based on a book, it doesn't flop and is in fact majorly successful. Luhrmann cast Leonardo Di Caprio in his 1995 remake of Romeo + Juliet, this being a successful film ultimately created a definite success for The Great Gatsby prior to its release. It also stars Carey Mulligan who starred in the successful film, along with Ryan Gosling, 'Drive'. The Great Gatsby had a budget of $105 and produced $348.8 at box office.

It is classed as a Romantic Drama however it may also be classed as a Greek Tragedy due to the downfall of nobel characters regarding their harmatia of naive idealism.


It has been certified as a 12A, however Common Sense Media says it's suitable for 14+.

This film was marketed using different images from the film to show all the different angles of the story. The posters focussed on the lavish style of the film and the lifestyles the characters lead to create an image of the main setting of the film and to enforce this amongst the potential viewers. Being that this film is an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald, the trailer and posters do not stray away from this and have kept a similar feel about the visual story as opposed to the literature.

Prior to the film's release, the Brooks Brothers premiered the 'Gatsby Collection', which is a line of men's clothing "inspired by the costumes designed by Catherine Martin for Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby". Following this, Tiffany & Co unveiled windows at its Fifth Avenue flagship store "inspired by" Luhrmann's film and created in collaboration with Luhrmann and costumer Catherine Martin. The jewellery store also premiered "The Great Gatsby Collection" line of jewellery designed in anticipation of the film.

It was released May 10th 2013. As May is in summer time, and The Great Gatsby is set in the summer of 1922, this appeals to the audience as they would feel related to it being that they would currently be living in summer time and following the stereotypes of summer times which are highlighted in the film.

It received mainly positive reviews speaking about how Luhrmann portrayed it well whilst keeping the original literature apparent. Although this caused a backfire on some as they felt too much attention on keeping faithful to the novel, it lacked the faithfulness in theme, character and impact. Many did say that Leonardo DiCaprio was a poor choice to portray Jay Gatsby. Many commented on the colour and theme of the riches in the film and how the entire film focussed on the gold element which some appreciated but some surpassed as tacky and stereotypical.

The Counsellor

     



Production budget: $25million
Domestic total: $16,816,402

Total lifetime grosses:
   Domestic : $16,816,402     35.9%
    Foreign$30,000,000          64.1%

Domestic summary:
   Opening weekend: $7,842,930
     (No. 4 rank. 3044 cinemas, $2,577 average)
       percentage of total gross: 46.6%

Widest release: 3,044
In release 33 days/ 4.1 weeks



This film is sold to the audience on the idea of drugs and violence. In the running titles there are big named actors with their awards underneath their names. This lures the audience in to believe this will be a good film due to the actors cast. However, the reviews are seemingly negative and has had few positive reviews.

I will be producing a short film based on the Horror genre and I will be making this apparrent by using some of the main conventions of that genre.
I plan on using lots of jump cuts to keep the viewer on edge and create a sense of disjointedness within the main character. At this moment I have not made a clear decision on what the narrative will be, however I have a brief outline. It will follow the main stereotypes of the Horror genre but with some controversial changes.

• Target audience of 15-25 year olds, interested in the psychological area 
• Either a short film or a film trailer based on the Horror genre with psychological aspects
• Use and adapt existing themes and ideas from Horror films
• Use dutch and other such unconventional angles 
• Editing will be the main focus of the sequence and will play a big part in the feel of the clip

Film Noir

 In this short film we created a Film Noir themed setting by using the available architecture in and around college. Such objects as grave stones and spiral staircases are popular conventions within the Film Noir genre.
The film begins with a close up of a hand and the shot is held for 2 seconds and then zooms out to reveal it is a dead body. The two seconds in which the viewer is unaware of whose hand this is or anything to do with it, the viewer is anticipated as to what this hand will show. This is shot at a dutch angle to show the obscurity and unorthodoxness of the situation.
It then cuts to a female standing in the doorway and then stepping over the dead body.The viewers are unable to see her face so it creates mystery as we are not yet sure as to who this character is, what she represents and her involvement in the situation. After she steps over the body, the camera follows her as she walks past and down the stairs. Following this, it cuts to a slow motion shot of her continuing down the stairs, however the camera is now at the bottom of the stairs as opposed to the top which shows she now has dominance of the situation and ultimately the rest of the film.
The next scene is the female continuing to walk away from the camera, down a path, in a graveyard, towards the church. In this shot, she is in centre frame, which , again shows she has dominance over the situation and she is able to determine what happens next.
Following this, the female meets a male and they talk whilst holding each other. In this shot the viewers cannot see her face as it is filmed from behind her so the mystery of this character continues. The shot fades out and into the next one which shows the male and the female walking out of the grave yard and closing the gate. The viewers are still unable to see the female's face, they may feel confused as to what her motive is and why she has killed this man. It is implied that she has killed this man who is her husband/partner to be with this other man. Typically, in the Film Noir genre, the female is 'Femme Fatalle' and she performs the murder or wrong doing to be with somebody else.
The film ends with a tilt shot of the male and female walking towards the camera. The camera tilts only as far up at the female's neck and then cuts to a  close up of both male and female's feet. At this point the viewers are anticipated as the camera tracks upwards as it creates suspense as they believe they may be able to see her identity. However when it gets extremely close to showing her face, it cuts away.
We were aiming to achieve mystery and I feel we have achieved this effectively primarily with the use of keeping the female's identity concealed.

Draft: Slumdog Millionaire opening scene analysis

The scene begins with an extreme close up of Jamal’s face, this reflects the intensity of the situation as we’re able to see his expression. Immediately we are able to see that he is the protagonist and the film will focus on how he feels with his emotions and his point of view. The lighting is low key and has a gold/yellow element to it which could suggest money and riches.  It could also mirror the heat in the country, as it’s a very warm colour, showing us it’s set in India. It cuts to Jamal filmed from an over the shoulder shot of the first man which makes us, as viewers, feel closer to the situation that is occurring.  On the screen it introduces the year and the place as Mumbai, 2006. This immediately lets us know that the film is set in a developing country and that this justice system is corrupt. The interrogator blows smoke into his face as a way of intimidating Jamal and to show his authority.

On the screen the text shows a question and multiple-choice answers. This is in the style of the game show so we as viewers are able to relate to this as it’s a very popular show. Through the use of this we are also able to see a clear insight as to what the film is about. It begins with the 2 most obvious answers that he cheated or that he is lucky, which is a reflection on how people view him.  It cuts to money being thrown into a bathtub.  We can only see the hands of this person and not the face so this character is anonymous and mysterious but the viewers see him as having authority because of all the money he has. There is a lot of references to money in this opening.

 The presenter of ‘Who Wants To Be a Millionaire’ is the second one to speak in this scene and he introduces the show. Low key lighting is used and it lights up the presenter’s face when he’s speaking then changes to Jamal’s face. Half of the presenter’s face is in the dark and half is lit up, this makes us feel as though he cannot be trusted and it foreshadows his evil potential for future events. When Jamal and the presenter initially walk out, the shot is from behind and they occupy an equal amount of space in the frame, however towards the end of the frame, the presenter moves into Jamal’s half of the frame. This makes us feel somewhat uncomfortable and empathising with Jamal as though personal space is being invaded. When Jamal and the presenter sit down, the scene is shot from a bird’s eye view to show that the presenter and Jamal, although it doesn’t initially seem this way, are in the same position in the sense they have someone of a higher authority controlling them. This authority could possibly be a religious figure as India is a very religious country. However, it could also be a physical being which lets viewers know the television, as well as many other systems, is corrupt in this country. We see the host sit Jamal down in his chair and raise his hand to pat him on the shoulder, this is when the scene cuts back to the interrogation and the hand that hits Jamal, matches the position in which the host’s hand was. This is an insight as to how he cannot be trusted and he isn’t what he seems. This makes us feel shocked and curious as to what is going to happen next.

Generally in a film we don’t find out how it ends until the ending of the film. However with this film, the beginning of the film shows how it ends and the duration of the film is flashbacks, two of which occur in the opening sequence.

The interrogator asks Jamal his name and slaps him in the face once more to which the scene cuts back to Jamal on the game show looking in a daze and unsure as to where he is. 

The interrogation is similar to Jamal’s entrance onto the show as he is being asked questions and is feared. It’s unusual to see someone with the opportunity to go on this game show to look so serious and terrified, generally people are excited so the change of normality in this intrigues the viewers as to why he is feeling such a way. This causes us as viewers to feel intrigued as to why Jamal is feeling this way. Some viewers may feel it’s due to that he will be cheating as that is what we were introduced to initially.

It suddenly cuts back to the interrogation part as an extreme close up of Jamal’s head being plunged under water. The bucket his head is in is red which causes the water to look red. This symbolises blood and danger which makes us feel that there is impending doom. The part of the scene where it is showing Jamal on the show, it is a flashback as when Jamal is being interrogated, he is remembering what has happened as that is the reason for the interrogation. This brings us closer to Jamal as this is the beginning of us viewing his life as flashbacks. During the section in the scene where it’s set on the show, the camera shows the behind the set workers showing multiple screens with Jamal from all angles which shows he is being watched and isn’t able to escape it. The presenter is mocking Jamal’s job and making the audience laugh, which is another insight as to how things work differently in a developing country due to that Jamal is being made fun of. Having this behaviour on the British version of this TV show wouldn’t be permitted. This shows he has dominance and power over Jamal.

The scene then cuts to a female at a train station, filmed from an overhead shot which shows she is vulnerable and foreshadows future events of someone acting upon her vulnerability. We as viewers are also curious as to what she’s looking at, assumingly something which makes her happy because she’s smiling.

Following this, the scene cuts back to the interrogation section, in a tracking shot from behind showing a man walking into the room. The camera slowly moves up his legs as he is walking. At this point we are unaware as to who he is, he seems to us that he has authority. It then cuts to a long shot in which his identity is revealed to him being a policeman.

The interrogator puts on his police uniform to which the viewers then realise that this is a corrupt justice system as they are torturing him.

When the two policemen are speaking to each other, Jamal is always in shot which shows the importance of him within their minds. We see when it’s been shot showing all three characters that the setting is very dirty and there is a blood stain on the floor which indicates it may be Jamal’s blood or it’s someone else’s.

The camera angles are similar to that of Inglorious Basterds in he interrogation scene. The framing is shared between the two characters to show how physically close they are. It also features characters of a lower position in hierarchy in contrast with the higher. Both these scenes use violence but in different forms; Slumdog Millionaire uses it in a threatening sense with no initial intention of killing Jamal. However, in Inglorious Basterds, the soldiers act in a very hostile manner and kill the Nazi in the first instance he does not give the information the soldiers required. 

'Redrum' Scene: The Shining

In this scene it is made clear to the viewers that the use of the red lipstick, the knife and Danny’s unorthodox speech reflects the deep psychological fear within him. Danny is supposedly possessed by some unknown supernatural force which causes him to do what he does in this scene.  Kubrick makes this apparent by using 3 key elements of Mise-En-Scene. Firstly, the knife is exaggerated in scale which dwarves Danny and makes the viewer aware of the fact he is only a small child and it isn't right for him to be holding such a dangerous object. This ultimately makes the viewers concerned for Danny’s well-being  Secondly, the use of the red lipstick symbolises blood and danger. As Danny is the one using the lipstick, it foreshadows that he may be at the hands of bloodshed.  The maturity associated with the use of lipstick conveys that he is being possessed by an elder supernatural force. The way in which the word ‘Redrum’ is written is childish as some letters are the wrong way around. This shows that Danny still has some control over his body and he isn’t being completely possessed by the supernatural force. Thirdly, Danny’s distorted and seemingly old voice makes it apparent to the viewers that he is possessed as it does not match his supposed innocence that a child of his age should have.

Low key lighting is used throughout this scene to create contrast and dark shadows which is a convention in this genre of film. The knife is situated directly in front of the lamp which gives it a silhouette and enhances its evil potential at the hands of Danny. The use of low key lighting and having dull colours in the room brings contrast specifically to the red lipstick as this way it will stand out more. However, it’s not just the dullness of the room and low key lighting which creates the contrast with the red lipstick. Wendy is very pale skinned so when the viewers see her wearing the lipstick it, again, makes the lipstick extremely apparent. This emphasises the danger within this room.

The use of Danny holding such large knife enhances the way in which this film’s social norms are seemingly broken. It is widely known that children should not play with knives or sharp objects; but with the use of this it shows Danny has dominance in this scene which is a key example of social norms being broken as mothers always should have dominance over their young children.

The speed in which Danny is moving and his prolonged speech pattern makes it seem as though time is moving slower. This builds up tension as the viewers are anxiously waiting for impending doom.  Usually a scene with a slow pace is a very peaceful scene; however, Kubrick has used the slow pace to portray the complete opposite as the slow pace creates masses of tension for the viewers.  

When Danny reaches up to touch the knife, the music suddenly becomes very loud and intense, and continues this way as he runs his hand down the length of the knife. This draws attention to the knife and makes the viewers focussed on it as it has been made apparent that this knife will have great significance in this scene. When Danny finishes writing ‘redrum’ on the door, the music ,again, takes a sudden loud and off key turn as he approaches Wendy with the knife; this causes the viewers to assume a panicked state. Danny’s voice mirrors the non diegetic sound as he approaches his mother; both he and the music get more intense and louder. This could be another indication to that Danny is possessed as something is mirroring what he is doing.  

When both characters are in the frame they occupy an equal amount of space, thus showing their entire body so the viewers are able to see their movements clearly. The scene is shot at Danny’s eye level so the viewers are able to connect with him in at least once sense. It could also possibly show that because Danny is possessed he may be watching this occur from beyond in a supernatural place. The knife is the main focus of this scene as it is always directly in the centre of the frame. This shows that the knife itself has evil capacity and it’s the one that will cause bloodshed.

When Danny wakes up Wendy by shouting ‘Redrum’ she grabs the knife off him and holds him close to her so Danny is now out of focus and the attention is on Wendy. The use of this shows that Wendy is now in control of this situation which foreshadows she is about to experience this supernatural force.  Wendy is now in the centre of the frame and the focus is on her lips because she is wearing the red lipstick. This is to draw attention to her shocked expression so the viewers feel the same as she looks in the mirror and sees the reflection of ‘redrum’ as ‘murder’. It is often seen as a device of the devil to spell things backwards. In this moment the viewers are seeing this at the exact same time as Wendy as the scene cuts away from Danny and Wendy and zooms in on the mirror, showing the word ‘murder’. As this happens the non diegetic sound gets very loud and intense which heightens the intensity and anxiousness of the atmosphere.